Today started early at 7 a.m. We rushed to get everything ready, including dealing with the inconvenience of fixing a bathroom leak from the day before. Despite the chaos, we managed to leave by 8 a.m., carrying large, heavy bags toward the airport.
We hauled our huge adventure packs, backpacks, and carry-ons through the Bakerloo and Elizabeth lines and made it to Heathrow Terminal 5 in good time. However, we were met with massive queues at security. Thankfully, we managed to get through them in about an hour.
Once inside the terminal, we waited for our plane, which was delayed. When the boarding announcement finally came, we rushed to the gate to ensure we’d be among the first to board. We didn’t want a repeat of our previous trip to Mendoza, where our luggage ended up in the hold. Thankfully, this time we got on the plane with our bags safely in tow.
The flight to Madrid was quick, taking about two hours. Once we landed, we went through security, only to have a near-miss with our electronics and passports. Some impatient passengers had cut in front of us and failed to push our items through the scanner. This caused our belongings to get stuck on the conveyor belt. We couldn’t see them on the other side and had to go back to push them through ourselves. Thankfully, we didn’t lose anything, but it was a stressful moment.
After that, we faced a seven-hour layover in Madrid. We found a worn-out, old couch where we passed the time napping and eating.
Around 10 p.m., we finally boarded our flight to Santiago. As we settled into our seats, we saw our two bags being loaded onto the plane from the window, which was a big relief. Once we took off, we were served dinner, which was surprisingly decent compared to the meals we had two years ago.
The next 14 hours were challenging. Despite trying to sleep, turbulence and crying babies made it difficult. To top it off, I ended up in the middle seat after losing the “shotgun” battle to Mathieu.